Early on a Friday in September, a colorful crosswalk appeared at the Gabriola ferry terminal. It ran from the stop sign to the pedestrian entry of the terminal area. An email from islander Bruce Batchelor credited it to the "Midnight Turkeys," who had chalked in one piece of a youth-written proposal for safety changes on Ferry Hill. As the Gabriola Sounder reported, it had been pressure-washed away by that afternoon.
The crosswalk was gone within hours. The gap it pointed to is about 650 metres long, and it has been on the table for years. That stretch of North Road is where Gabriola's main walking route stops working. What happens to it is now being decided by a feasibility study due for public discussion in early January. Most of what the study can recommend is already set by one fact: the agency that controls the bottom of the hill has not joined the planning.
Where the Path Runs Out
Village Way is the Regional District of Nanaimo's path along the north side of North Road. According to the RDN's project page, it runs 1.5 kilometres from the junction of North and South Roads to the 707 Community Park entrance at Tin Can Alley. It is 2 metres wide and raised slightly above the road surface. The path sits entirely within the road right-of-way, and the RDN built and maintains it under licence from the province. Construction was scheduled for September 16 to December 15, 2020.
The original plan called for asphalt through the village core and gravel beyond it. In February 2024, the Sounder reported that paving of the remaining gravel portion had begun, with a permeable surface.
The path starts at the North and South Roads junction. Below it, Ferry Hill drops to the Descanso Bay terminal with no path at all. The Gabriola Transportation Society has asked for an extension of 650 metres from that junction to the terminal. So the only stretch with no dedicated space for walkers and cyclists is the steepest one, and it is also the stretch that carries every foot passenger heading to or from Nanaimo.
From Advocacy to a Funded Study
The push to close the gap goes back further than most of the current plans. The Sounder reports that Steve Earle and Ivan Bulic of the Gabriola Transportation Society have been working on a safe route down Ferry Hill since 2018. They started through the former Ferry Advisory Committee and Sustainable Gabriola. Over the past year, the idea has become a funded project:
- November 2025. Earle and Bulic took the case to the RDN as a delegation. RDN Parks manager Rick Daykin told the Sounder that $545,898 in Community Works Funds had been earmarked for the project, and that the RDN would apply for grants alongside it.
- May 2026. The RDN launched the Gabriola Village Centre Active Transportation Link Feasibility Study. It hired Aplin Martin Consultants Ltd., which started with a drone survey of North Road. The study's estimated value is $85,000, and it was expected to finish by the end of 2026.
- June 2026. More than 20 stakeholders met at Agi Hall. They included MLA Sheila Malcolmson, RDN Electoral Area B Director Vanessa Craig, Ministry of Transportation and Transit staff, Islands Trustees, the Gabriola ambulance station and the Gabriola Chamber of Commerce.
- September 2026. The chalk crosswalk appeared and was removed. A ministry statement said any traffic control device should go in only after engineering review and approval by the responsible road authority.
The chalk crosswalk came from a separate effort that ran in parallel with the RDN process. Over the summer, Batchelor worked with parents and youth on a report called Ferry Hill Vision, and a copy is at the library. Local youth tested basic measures like crosswalks, lane widths, delineators and speed limits through a board game two parents designed. Their proposal includes two crosswalks across North and South Roads from the Village Path to the Agi Hall and farmers' market side. It also adds one from the terminal lot to a marked pathway leading to the paid parking lot and up the hill.
Two Sides of the Hill, Two Kinds of Difficulty
At the September 21 meeting of the Electoral Area B Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee, RDN staff described two options they are developing with the ministry, the Sounder reported in October.
| North side | South side | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Cliff side of the road | Beside the ferry lineup |
| What it would take | Large amount of blasting, plus water management for the existing ditch | A sidewalk, because the route runs close to an edge |
| Crossing traffic | No crossing named in the RDN description | Would need a crosswalk across ferry loading and unloading traffic |
RDN Parks Planner Riccardo Tavella said it is "going to be a big challenge for both." Each option will be evaluated "for quality, feasibility, safety, price–everything."
The Gabriola Transportation Society has argued for the south side. Earle told the Sounder in 2025 that cyclists coming downhill on a path would be going too fast: "It's a steep hill [and] it's pretty hard not to go fast." He also said the south side fits the traffic pattern better as the ferry unloads.
The Entrance No Plan Can Move
This is the constraint that shapes both options. RDN staff said BC Ferries has not taken part in the consultation so far. As a result, every plan has to bring pedestrians and cyclists to the terminal's current pedestrian entrance. BC Ferries was also invited to the June meeting at Agi Hall but did not attend.
Director Craig noted the tension. BC Ferries has long-term plans to redevelop the terminal, but the RDN has no timeline or design for that work. So a route down the hill is being planned toward an endpoint that could change someday. Craig said such a redevelopment is unlikely within the next 10 years.
The chalk crosswalk ran from the stop sign to that same pedestrian entry. With the entrance fixed for at least a decade, the January study mostly has to choose which side of the hill to use, and how to cross the traffic in between.
Inside the Village, the Smaller Fixes Come First
The part of the route that already exists is getting adjusted too. RDN staff have finished concept drawings for crosswalks between driveways along Village Way. They have started review with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit. Some crosswalks are planned in rainbow colors, possibly using paint left over from Nanaimo.
The railings along the path are also getting a trial change. Vertical bars can block sightlines where driveways cross the path. The committee picked four priority spots: Ross Way, the Co-op gas station entrance and the two entrances to Madrona Marketplace. At each driveway, one panel on each side will lose its vertical bars and get horizontal cables instead. If the cables work and the budget allows, the RDN will consider replacing the rest.
Beyond the path itself, the RDN's sportsfield feasibility work now includes a possible community centre, aimed at activity space the island does not have yet. Staff hope to have a consultant on board by the committee's February 2027 meeting.
Walking the Route Before January
On the existing path, the main stops are close together. Madrona Marketplace is at 480 North Road. Folklife Village is at 575 North Road, home to Village Food Market, Island Pharmacy, The Kitchen, The Wooden Hanger Clothing and Village Liquor Store. The Gabriola Island branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library is also there, at #5–575 North Road. That is the copy of Ferry Hill Vision to ask for. At the far end, the path reaches 707 Community Park at Tin Can Alley.
Here are the dates between now and the study's release:
- Saturdays through December 12, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Gabriola Agriculture Co-op's Winter Farmer's Market runs these dates, then returns January 9 through May 8.
- Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Jingle Bell Craft Fair is at the Gabriola Golf & Country Club, 825 South Road, with free admission.
- Saturday, November 28. The library branch at Folklife Village has a program listed on its VIRL branch page.
- December 18 and 19. A Reading of A Christmas Carol is at the Rollo Centre, 685 North Road. It runs Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children, and under-12s get in free.
- Early January. The final Ferry Hill feasibility study is expected out for public discussion, after the working group meets again to review the options.
When that study comes out, the cost estimates and the side of the hill it favors will show how soon those 650 metres might get a path. The RDN has said those details will guide grant applications and detailed design.
On Gabriola, details like the ferry walk, the hill and the distance to Folklife Village are part of how an address works day to day. If you're thinking about how the island's ferry connection fits your own plans, Charlie Parker Team follows these local projects closely and is happy to talk through what they mean for you. Contact Us whenever you're ready.